Southern Utah Trip 2004, Part 4: The Conclusion

June 25, 2004
Zion National Park
Springdale, Utah

After leaving Bryce and a quick stop at Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park, we arrived here at Zion.

The dunes of Coral Pink Sand Dunes reminded me of the Sahara, only pink in color with huge mountains in the background and beautiful yellow flowers clinging on the tops of the dunes. The sand felt like flour, in softness and texture and was scorching hot to the touch on top. But when I dug into the sand, it was cool underneath. I have to admit that I am grateful that I didn’t dig up some scary snake or something, though! I saw people riding dune buggies through the sandy hills and I wish that we had the time to do that, too. It looked like a blast! I will have to try riding a buggy at a later time.

Zion is great! Best Friend was looking forward to seeing this place most of all. She has memories of her childhood trips here burned into her mind and has felt Zion calling to her ever since. I can understand how beautiful impressions of this place were etched into her memory. I feel that I will leave here with the same kind of experience. Zion's scenery will no doubt become one of the many pictures that appear on the backs of my eyelids as I close my eyes at night.

This place is just a smidge reminiscent of Yosemite Valley, as we are surrounded by huge monoliths. However the temperature never soared above the 100 degree mark at Yosemite as it did here today. The heat feels like the heat I know of back in Georgia, as I can feel humidity in the air for the first time in weeks. I credit the Virgin River for this familiar stickiness in the air. The Virgin (has to be named for its pure, clear qualities) flows between the previous mentioned monoliths in a lush valley. It is host to green vegetation, which adds indescribable beauty to the rust colored rock walls.

We hiked the Riverside Walk Trail, which is only one scenic (paved) mile that ends at the Virgin River. And that was where the fun began! We then hiked in the river through the narrows, with canyon walls towering above our heads on either side. After a couple of minutes wading the river against the current through water depths varying between knee, thigh and waist deep, Goofball decided that it wasn’t her cup of tea. After a promise from Best Friend and me to return shortly, she plopped down on a beach of pebbles along the river. Best Friend and I trudged against the water, delicately balancing ourselves on slippery rock and blinking our eyes to clear them of the tricks the shallow, clear, rushing water was deluding as we carefully watched our feet step onto seemingly stable stones. My Merrell sandals were awesome but even they couldn’t help my slipping from time to time. I didn’t care when the water rode all the way up my shorts and soaked my underwear, but I was worried about protecting my precious cameras from a careless topple. Fortunately that didn’t happen and I got some great shots of watery hiking trail. I don’t even think that we traveled that far, but we must have been gone longer than Goofball expected. She was quite upset when we made it back to her. It's not like we could help it, though! We were captivated by these guys rappelling down the wall in a thin waterfall plunging into the river. I had to watch until all three made it into the river next to where I was standing. I have to try that sometime! It looks awesome. It took half the time to walk the same distance going with the flow of the river as opposed to against it. Anyway, our Goofball was in tears thinking we washed down the river. I kept behind a couple of steps as she and Best Friend had it out. I was too in tune with nature to be out of sync with people, so I muttered a “Sorry, we had you worried.” to Goofball and left the “We told you what we were doing! It’s my vacation and I am going to do what I want to on my own time schedule! And it's not like we were gone for hours! You could have come along, too, but you chose to stay here instead! Not my fault!” to Best Friend.

It was great to take advantage of the park’s free shuttle bus and give the Rodeo a rest. We even took the bus into Springdale for dinner that night. After dinner we went to a karaoke bar and Goofball sang us a song. Evidently, we were forgiven for our disappearance down the river. We had fun!

One sad thing did occur today. A thirteen year old boy fell from Angel’s Landing. One part of this trail is only 3 feet wide with a 900ft. drop on one side and a 1200ft. drop on the other. It makes me queasy just thinking about it. I don’t think that is something I could ever do. It was sad when we saw the rescue trucks searching for him and the helicopter from Grand Canyon roaring overhead. The trails in the area were closed (not that I would ever want to attempt that trail anyhow.) I feel so sad for a life cut short and the pain the parents are no doubt experiencing. What a vacation for them.

June 26, 2004

Found out that the boy who fell from Angel’s Landing was a 14 year old boy scout. All the trails were opened again today, as they found his body. This will be the length of my sad story of the day.

On to happier things…We hiked a challenging trail to Emerald Pools. It was three levels and we completed them all. The trail to the upper pool was rugged and challenging, but the end result was worth it. The view was of a green-tinted pool (hence the title “Emerald”) surrounded by soaring rock. There were plenty of nice areas to rest and reward ourselves for our success. We rested under a nice sheltering group of trees and dumped the sand out of our shoes. I wore my hiking sandals this time so I picked up quite a bit of sand. I must give my compliments to my hiking sandals as they performed awesomely and gave me just as much grip as my hiking boots and low-top hikers made by the same company…Merrell rules!!!! I will be a fan for life!

After dumping the sand, checking out the area and snapping pictures, we took our shady spot under the trees and relaxed. That’s when Best Friend and I noticed the group of hot male hikers sitting nearby. I decided to go out on a limb and talk with them despite the fact that I had been without a shower for days and without makeup for a week. It’s funny how primping and perfume become so low on the totem pole of priorities when you are having wilderness adventures. What is even funnier is the fact that I didn’t even care! (Though I did have to find a means to shave my legs every night) So I notice that they are eating freeze-dried ice cream and I figured that asking about it would be a great conversation opener. It was a good opener and after being offered a piece of strawberry ice cream from one of the guys, who had amazing eyes by the way, we began to talk a bit. He tells me that they are from California, near Sacramento and more about their adventures and I share ours with him. He tells me he had never been to Georgia and asks is it pretty. I tell him, “I used to think so until I came here.” We chatter on about beautiful Zion and all of beautiful Utah. I felt so silly flirting with him while covered in sand, other grit, and quite possibly offensive smells and wearing no makeup, but it was fun. Still, the girls and I had other hikes to make, so all good things must come to an end and I ended my chat with the California boy with eyes bluer than the Pacific. (sigh...)

We hiked the Weeping Rock and Three Patriarchs Trails next. The trail to Weeping Rock was all uphill, but at least it was shaded from the hot sun. The rock did look as if it was weeping. It dripped and oozed water from all sides. Little ferns and mosses on the rock looked like a hanging garden and thrived all around this damp area. The monoliths of the Three Patriarchs—Jacob, Abraham, and Isaac--were my favorites in the park. They catch low light of the sun beautifully.

After the last of the hikes, I came to realize just how badly I needed to shower. Suddenly my mind snapped back from wilderness mode to civilized mode and once again I made cleanliness a priority. Showers were not accessible so we made a trip to the clear Virgin River to wash away our grime in a river bath. The cold water did the trick. We found a waist high section of the river and let the gentle currents carry away the loose dirt from our bodies. I watched trout hiding behind rocks near my feet. Had we not still been on National Park property with the strong possibility of someone crossing our paths, (we weren’t far from the most popular and crowded section of the park) then it would have been nice to ditch the swimsuit. Just as that thought crossed my mind, a little boy floated towards us on his donut float. Good thing I wasn’t naked!

After the refreshing bath, we took another trip into Springdale for dinner. I bought a dress from a cool, eccentric shop called the Lazy Lizard. I think most of my reasoning behind that purchase was just to feel like a woman again.

Tonight ended with a night ride in the shuttle up Zion Canyon. We were the only ones on the bus at one time and our bus driver, L., was very talkative. He told us so many stories about this place. You could tell that Zion is a place he loves dearly. Along the drive we saw the turkeys roosting in a tree that L. pointed out. We also saw a skunk crossing the road and a fox standing in the headlights of our bus as we turned around at Zion Lodge. The whole canyon was bathed in silver moonlight and I thought of Yosemite Valley again.

I am really going to miss Zion and this whole camping experience, for tomorrow it ends.

June 27, 2004

Before leaving this desert wonderland, we got tickets for the morning Ranger Shuttle Tour. It was so cool because we stopped in places that the regular shuttle did not stop and were allowed to get off the bus and walk around. I feel like I learned a lot of new things such as the fact that the white morning glory-like flowers are poisonous. And we learned a lot about porcupines. I never knew that their babies were called porcupets!

The morning light on the canyon walls was amazing. The best view was the Court of the Patriarchs. I hope that some of my 35mm pictures will look as good as the ones I took on my digital.

After reluctantly leaving the park, we passed through Springdale in search of the old ghost town of Grafton. After stopping for directions, we finally found the dusty road that lead to the vacant town. We came across the cemetery first, which had a rickety old metal gate. The graves had freshly kept dirt piles on top of them. Is this what Boot Hill looks like? (Well, minus the hill!) The town itself, of which a church, a building and a few scattered deserted homes was all that was left, was eerie standing in the quiet desert. It is just what I envisioned an authentic old western ghost town to look like. Brown dirt, shabby structures, cliffs as a backdrop, and a loud noiselessness added just the right mystique. Every time the hot wind would blow, I expected a tumble weed to roll in front of my path. And the most annoying thing I experienced was the continuous playing of The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly theme in my head. I wish that I had a watergun to pull on Best Friend and Goofball.

We also saw another ghost town, Thistle, off highway 89 on our return trip to Roy. It was a more modern ruin but still quite creepy. This town was vacated because of a flood. One house still stood in a swampy remnant of the flood.

After dropping Goofball off at her house and unloading the Rodeo, Best Friend and I immediately took showers and began washing our filthy clothes. It was strange to re-enter the real world. Once again, the voices of people, television, ringing telephone, and other sounds generated in a house, have replaced the sounds of rushing water, wind blowing down-canyon, and the silence of starry nights.


The small dunes of Coral Pink Sands.







The huge dunes of Coral Pink Sands. Imagine riding a dune buggy over this bugger!







Shortly after leaving Goofball on her island of pebbles, Best Friend and I begin our watery trek through the narrows of the Virgin River. That's Best Friend to the right in the blue!









More of the Virgin River narrows.











View hiking down from the Upper Emerald Pool. Watch out for the puddles like this one or else you might take a spill over the ledge! Yikes!










The Three Patriarchs--Jacob, Abraham, and Isaac.







View from within fabulous Zion Canyon.









Beautiful morning light through the shady green of Zion.








Entering the town of ghosts...er, I mean the ghost town! Here's old Grafton Cemetery







A black and white photo I took of the church left standing in the ghost town of Grafton. Why am I still hearing that annoying The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly theme two thousand miles away?!






June 28, 2004
the day after...

A much more relaxing day had we! Already missing living among nature, Best Friend and I rode up into the Uintas via the Mirror Lake Scenic Byway in search of moose. We left without even a glimpse, but I refuse to leave the West without seeing one this time. (And I don’t mean a baby like the one I saw in Colorado last year. No, I am going to see one with huge antlers! And I shall call him “Bullwinkle”!) It was still a lovely drive. How can any ride in the Rocky Mountains not be lovely? Snow-topped mountains reflecting in lakes, deer, a marmot, wildflowers, Christmas Meadows, and a storm brewing up not so far off as evident by lightning and roaring thunder were just a few of our sites. We stopped by Provo Falls and I loved them. There were upper, middle, and lower levels to falls, all spilling their way down step-like striated rock into the Provo River. Reminds me of Minnehaha, Panther, and Angel Falls back home.

As I lie here on the bed writing this, I can still hear and see the past week’s events whizzing through my head. I have seen and experienced so much in the last 9 to 10 days. I don’t see how my life can be the same again. With everything from the feel of cold rivers, to the heat of the desert, to the hissing stars, to the soft sand, to the electric feel of a storm approaching in the desert, my senses have been stimulated so that I will never experience my world in the same bland way of my past again.


The moutains of the Uinta Range behind Christmas Meadows.








The falls of the Provo River.